Establishing Term and College Academic Calendars

Operational Standard/Purpose

Illinois Central College (ICC) relies upon several calendars, which are developed by multiple stakeholders including the Board of Trustees, the Executive Cabinet, the Academic Calendar Committee, Student Services and Financial Aid, and Academic Affairs. Developing these calendars and coordinating their alignment are critical for student success. Furthermore, these calendars must comply with numerous regulatory bodies including the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) {See Additional Provisions/Information}, Department of Education, Department of Veteran Affairs, and Higher Learning Commission (HLC) guidelines. The following Standard Operating Procedure serves to assist in guiding the development and coordination of the foundational calendars: the Term Calendar and the College Academic Calendar.

• Term Calendar – This calendar includes the semester start, semester end and Census Day dates so that all other detailed dates may be planned accordingly.
• College Academic Calendar – This calendar includes the detailed dates built around and in compliance with the approved Term Calendar to meet the needs of students for academic and financial aid purposes.

Developing a Term Calendar with standardization of the start dates, end dates and Census Day for the Fall, Spring, and Summer Semesters will allow for all stakeholders across the college to plan appropriately. In addition, Financial Aid is based on a Summer to Summer academic year so the College needs term start and end dates for Summer, Fall, Spring and Summer each year to offer Financial Aid for the following year.

• For example, by October of each year, the Student Services division needs to know the following term year’s calendar (i.e., in October 2021, the College needs the Term Calendars for Summer 2022, Fall 2022, and Spring 2023 and Summer 2023 in order to offer Fall 2022 aid).

After the Term Calendar is established and approved by the Board of Trustees, the College Academic Calendar will be produced utilizing the Administrative Calendar with the necessary details for additional stakeholder planning such as days the college is closed, reopens after holidays, observing holidays. The College Academic Calendar recommendation is approved by the Executive Cabinet.

Scope/Applicability

This covers the Academic Calendar Committee, Academic Services, Academic Affairs, Instructional Technology, Marketing and Institutional Advancement, Administration and Finance, Student Success, and Workforce Development.

Procedures

Term Calendar Process

A Term Calendar will be produced and recommended by October for a minimum of two years in advance by the Academic Calendar Joint College Committee. The Term Calendar will establish the Fall, Spring and Summer start dates, end dates and Census Day for each of the three semesters.

Standard Term Dates:

The Academic Calendar Committee has determined that the Term Calendar will have the following standardization when developing the annual academic calendar.

• Fall Semesters are anticipated to start the third Monday of each August.
• Spring Semesters are anticipated to start the Tuesday after the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday in January.
• Summer Semesters are anticipated to start the day after the Spring Semester ends which is typically a Tuesday in May right after the last day of the Spring finals date. Most of the classes scheduled for the Summer Semesters will start either the last week in May or the first week in June to accurately determine Census Day.

Add/Drop Dates will be calculated as such by the Student Services Division:

• Fall and Spring Semesters: through 11:59 pm on Census Day. See Census Day Calculations below.

Census Days:

• Census Day will be calculated by the Student Services Division and provided to the Calendar Committee.

College Academic Calendar Process

The College Academic Calendar will align with the Term Calendar and the College’s Administrative Calendar for days the College is closed and observing holidays.

See Term Calendar and College Academic Calendar Timeline spreadsheet for production/Board of Trustee meeting dates.

The co-chairs of the Calendar Committee will complete the Joint College Advisory Committee Recommendation Form and attach any proposed Term Calendar(s) and proposed College Academic Calendar(s) to present to the Vice President of Academic Affairs (VPAA). The VPAA will present the Joint College Advisory Committee Recommendation Form and the proposals to the Executive Cabinet for their review and recommendation. If recommended, the VPAA will present the Term Calendar proposals to the Board of Trustees (BOT) for the approval at the October BOT meeting. The VPAA will inform the Calendar Committee’s co-chairs of the BOT’s decision. The Calendar Committee’s co-chairs will inform the Calendar Committee of the decision.

• If approved, the Curriculum and Scheduling staff will alert Institutional Advancement, Institutional Research, and Student Services of the need to post the approved Term Calendar(s) on the ICCNET.
• If approved, the Curriculum and Scheduling staff will alert the Marketing and Institutional Advancement Staff of the need to post the College Academic Calendar on the ICC’s Calendar web page. The College Academic Calendar will also be published in the College Catalog.
• If not approved, the Calendar Committee will take the BOT recommendations and make revisions as needed to either the Term Calendar or to the College Academic Calendar as needed to present to the BOT at the Calendar Committee’s earliest opportunity and follow the same pathway for approval.

Additional Provisions/Information

Illinois Community College Board Administrative Rules December 2019 Section 1501.303 Program Requirements: Academic Calendar.

1. A college shall operate on an academic calendar that provides at least two academic terms consisting of at least 15 weeks (at least 75 days of instruction each), three academic terms consisting of at least 10 weeks (at least 50 days of instruction each) or a different combination of academic terms consisting of at least 30 weeks (at least 150 days of instruction).
2. The days of instruction prescribed in subsection (e)(1) shall include all days when there is a full schedule of classes and support services, but will exclude holidays, Saturdays, Sundays, and days scheduled exclusively for registration, orientation, collegewide placement or assessment testing, faculty workshops, and final examinations.
3. Colleges may include terms during the summer or any other time during the year, in addition to the ones identified in subsection (e)(1).
4. Courses/classes may be scheduled between academic terms, spanning academic terms, for a shorter time frame than the academic term, or for a longer time frame than the academic term, if the schedule provides sufficient duration and contact hours to meet the requirements in Sections 1501.309(b) and 1501.507(b)(10).
5. If an emergency such as a fire, flood, or strike makes it necessary for the college to shorten one of its academic terms, the college may request that the Executive Director approve a shorter term. In such cases, the length of the term may be shortened, but only to the extent that enables all courses to meet the contact hours specified in Section 1501.309(b).
6. Colleges must have a plan in place to address modifications to the academic terms in the event of an emergency. This plan must be approved by the Board of Trustees.